Denny Hamlin gets an unexpected boost with pole run at Phoenix

Denny Hamlin gets an unexpected boost with pole run at Phoenix

Nov. 7, 2014

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

AVONDALE, Ariz.— Needing an 11th-place finish or better in Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 to secure one of four positions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ title race, Denny Hamlin took a giant step toward that goal with a pole-winning effort on Friday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Hamlin covered the one-mile distance in 25.332 seconds (142.113 mph) to win his third Coors Light pole award of the season, his second at Phoenix and the 20th of his career. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota edged fellow Chase driver Brad Keselowski (142.079 mph) by .006 seconds for the top starting spot in the final race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup’s Eliminator Round (on ESPN at 3 p.m. ET).

With Kevin Harvick third at 141.995 mph, Joey Logano fourth and Matt Kenseth fifth (both at 141.794 mph) and Jeff Gordon sixth at 141.665 mph, Chase drivers claimed six of the top seven spots on the grid. The only interloper was Kyle Busch, who will start sixth after posting a lap at 141.771 mph.

With one of the best pit crews in the Sprint Cup garage, Hamlin will choose pit stall No. 1, closest to the exit from pit road and a considerable advantage at Phoenix. But even with the top starting spot and the best pit box, Hamlin doesn’t think he’ll be able to coast to the final race.

“I think the competition is just too close and tight to think that you’re just going to coast to an 11th-place finish,” Hamlin said. “Nowadays, the difference between 11th and third and 20th is not that much, so you’ve got to go all-out on every single lap and fight for every position on restarts.

“So, really, from my standpoint, there is no backing into this thing and coasting our way to Homestead. We have to go out there and perform at a high level, or else we’re not going to make it. There are too many cars that are too good for us to think that we’re just going to ride around and take our spot.”

Harvick, who was fastest in Friday’s opening practice, said he didn’t “connect the dots” in either round of knockout qualifying. Nevertheless, the consensus in the garage is that Harvick, who has won three of the last four Phoenix races, has the fastest car in race trim.

“I just didn’t hit everything on both laps,” Harvick said. “I got up the race track a little bit the first lap in Turn 1, and on the second lap, I got up the track at Turns 3 and 4. So I just missed it by a little bit, but our Budweiser Chevrolet is really good in race trim and (I’m) really looking forward to the race.

“We have to keep tweaking on it tomorrow and know we qualified 13th here the first time and drove to the lead. We have to keep doing what we’re doing, and we’ll be fine.”

Keselowski and Harvick, who are seventh and eighth in the Chase standings know that a victory at Phoenix is their surest path to the season finale. Keselowski, who had to win at Talladega to advance to the Eliminator Round, spelled it out.

“Technically, I don’t have to win this race, but the probabilities are that I do,” he explained. “I think it will be very hard to pass three cars in points. I think I’m within five on all three, but that means if you didn’t win, you’d have to beat at least three cars by five spots on the track—and these are good guys.  These are good drivers and good teams. 

“There’s a reason why they’re this far in the Chase, and to beat all three of those by five spots, that’s a tough task for anyone to really feel good about. But you know if you win, you’re in, and that’s the great thing about this system and we have a great shot at it, for sure.”

Chase driver Carl Edwards was 25th fastest in opening practice but improved to 13th in time trials.

“I hate to admit it, but I’m very happy with 13th,” Edwards said.  “We were about a 25th-place car in practice, and I was nervous about this and it went well, so that’s good. I’m telling you, we’re within striking distance. 

“We’re better than we qualified in the spring, and now we work on race trim. We’re always better in the race here than we are in qualifying, so we’ll just go focus on it and keep digging.”

Ryan Newman, who needs a ninth-place finish to advance to Homestead with title eligibility, qualified 20th, deepest in the field of the Chase drivers.

Clay Rogers failed to make the 43-car field.